Bare feet leap across the wooden floor in an Adair Hall
studio as a familiar song fills the space. The dancers’ movements change from
minimal and controlled to large and carefree, some spinning towards the edges
of the floor while others move into the center. Joan Gavaler, Leah Glenn and
Denise Damon Wade sit at the front of the imaginary stage and watch with rapt
attention. When the music ends, they form a huddle with the piece’s
choreographer and share their notes, the movement of the professors’ hands as
they speak a dance of its own – one of edification and encouragement.

For months, that scene has been repeated weekly as the
members of William & Mary’s Orchesis dance company have prepared for their
spring concert, “An Evening of Dance,” which runs March 21-23 in Phi Beta Kappa
Hall. The annual event features original works choreographed by students and
danced by students, all with the help of William & Mary’s dance faculty.

“It’s a full production process, and it’s really rewarding
to see our students grow throughout that process,” said Glenn, associate
professor of dance.

Orchesis, which was formed in 1941, is the original
coursework of dance at William & Mary, said Gavaler, professor of dance and
chair of the Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance.

In the Orchesis class, students would learn about technique
and composition and then put those skills into action at a spring concert.

Now, the elements of that one class have been separated into
several different classes that are offered through the university’s dance minor
program. Any William & Mary student may audition in the fall for the Orchesis
dance company. Those who are asked to join the company make a yearlong
commitment to the program, which involves not only a spring performance but a
fall concert, as well, which features the choreography of faculty members.

For the spring concert, student choreographers make
proposals to the dance faculty members, who select what pieces will be used and
then work with the students on their ideas.

“It’s kind of an apprenticeship model,” said Gavaler. “Some
have done coursework and others have not. They learn by being part of other
people’s pieces, and then, when they attempt their own, they learn by getting
very direct feedback from us on what they are seeing.”

The three faculty members conduct a “viewing” of the dances
each week to see how the pieces are progressing and help the students as they hone
their work and challenge themselves.

“We want them to push harder and take risks, because that’s
when the good stuff comes,” said Gavaler.

Although the faculty members offer guidance, they are careful
to not overtake any of the pieces.

“It’s their voice,” said Wade, associate professor of dance
and director of the dance program. “We want to help them create the best
possible piece that they can, so the feedback that we give them might be to
point out places where their vision isn’t really coming across in the dancers
or the choreography because it is – bottom line – their idea.”

The three faculty members could work individually with
students to provide feedback, but they instead choose to work together to offer
the choreographers notes.

“We could divide the students up, but we all see different
things, and it’s so important for each student to have three different views to
pull ideas from,” said Glenn. “I think that’s a plus.”

The students “are very sharp,” said Gavaler.

“They really can figure things out by getting that kind of
feedback and applying it independently in the rehearsal,” she said. “It’s very
much an environment for leadership growth on the part of those choreographers.”

Helping student choreographers is an art itself as it can
involve a lot of emotions and vulnerabilities as students often convey very
personal stories or themes in their work.

“It’s a very intimate process,” said Wade. “It’s very
heartfelt what they are doing. Even if we don’t necessarily understand what the
piece is about, we’re very careful to not step on those ideas and are very
careful to let them be the ones who are shaping the ideas.”

The formation of a sense of self-confidence is something
that the faculty members hope all of their dance students gain in the end.

“That’s what I think you would take away after William &
Mary,” said Gavaler. “The idea that you know what your vision is, that your
vision matters, that you have the skills to get the vision out there and you
can handle critique in a constructive way and you can develop your ideas but
you also don’t put somebody else’s opinion above your own belief in yourself.

“I think that can get you through life in a certain way,
whether or not you continue to dance.”